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Jefferson Offers CD to Track Records

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Southeast coast of the United States, residents were forced to evacuate - some with just moments to spare - before the worst storm in decades devastated their homes and communities. Many fled with only the bare essentials.

In the aftermath, thousands of people, without their health records, were treated by medical personnel for various problems or emergencies. Most could rely only on memory to tell the professionals about their personal health histories and daily medications.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital of Philadelphia is offering a new tool to enable patients to track personal and family health records on their home computers, and download that information to a USB device or print it for portability.

Jefferson University Hospital's customized "Personal-Health Manager Software" is available free on CD-rom. It allows individuals to have their health records centrally located and ready to print in the event of natural disasters and medical emergencies, or even for routine physician visits.

In addition, using the PHM, patients with chronic medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure can record, track and monitor vital information, such as daily blood pressure and glucose levels.

In addition to the software, the CD includes built-in links to the hospital's online resources to access information on a variety of health topics and medical specialists, and to set up appointments with Jefferson physicians.